


Song of Angels

by 0bviousLeigh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 21:11:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16048637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: A new singer with a mystery identity is signed to the label that Masumi sings with. “Blue Angel,” as she’s called, wears a dramatic costume and sings sugary-pop songs. Masumi can’t stand her (or so she tells herself).





	Song of Angels

**Author's Note:**

> for more information on this AU and for a list of songs used in the story, click [here](http://rainbow-galaxy-supernova.tumblr.com/post/178290194256/notes-for-my-latest-fanfic)

“We’re on in 5!” An assistant calls into the dressing room.

“Understood!” Masumi calls without looking—her makeup artist is patting glitter on her eyelids.

Masumi can hear the faint roar of the crowd just upstairs. Her backup dancers’ shoes squeak on the floor as they rehearse their steps one more time. The makeup artist sprays Masumi’s face with a setting serum. Marco, Masumi’s manager, covers one ear as he talks on the phone. “Yes, sir, I’ll let her know.”

Masumi blinks her eyes open as the makeup artist fans her face. “Who was on the phone?” She asks.

“Takahashi-san, he’s calling everyone together for a meeting tomorrow,” Marco answers.

Masumi adjusts the various pins securing her body jewelry in place. The concept for this song is dark, sexy, and powerful; all things Masumi does well, and all things that suit her. She’s dressed in black shorts, a crop top covered in black sequins, and she’s covered in silver chains. She slips on her heels and gives her hair a final check before walking out of the dressing room and to the stage to get her microphone.  Once it’s secure, she steps out of the wings, her dancers following, and the waiting fans scream.

Masumi can’t hold back a grin and she walks to the center of the stage and bows, holding it for a few seconds. When she stands, she waves to her fans and cups her hands around her mouth to shout, “Hello! My name is Kotsu Masumi, it’s nice to see you all!”

The fans scream back, “Your Gem Knights love you!”

To which Masumi answers, “Thank you! I love you, too!”

The fans scream, Masumi smiles, and the staff call out the count down. Masumi drops her smile as she gets into position and her dancers arrange themselves around her. She focuses on the sound of blood rushing in her ears, and the 8-count that’s ingrained into the beating of her very heart. “Must Be Now” has been part of Millennium Idol’s discography for years, but ever since Masumi started performing it as her solo in the theater, it’s experienced a surge in popularity. The company capitalized on it, asked Masumi to record it as a single and perform it on shows. It’s a dream come true. 

When the music starts, Masumi is On. She’s graceful and fluid, she’s sexy and charismatic. She stares down the camera, she flashes a smirk at just the right moment, and she dances like she was born for it—because she was. Masumi was made for this, and she loves every moment of it.

When the song ends and Masumi can hear the screams of her fans over the sound of her own heartbeat, she lets the seriousness slip away and she breaks into a delighted smile. She bows multiple times, she waves and blows kisses, and when she’s finally directed offstage, she feels satisfied knowing that she’s given another great performance.

Back in the dressing room, Masumi’s stylist touches up her hair and Masumi gulps water before she’s due back on stage for a short interview. Marco puts his hand on her shoulder and Masumi meets his eyes in the mirror.

“Masumi, rumors about a new artist debuting through the company have been circulating. If you’re asked about it, just say you don’t know anything.”

Masumi laughs. “Well, that’s true, I haven’t heard anything.”

Marco smiles and nods.

Sure enough, once the standard questions about her new song have been asked, Masumi is interrogated about the rumors.

“A new artist from the famous Millennium Organization!” the MC says through a wide smile. “What can you tell us about that, Masumi? Anyone we may recognize?”

Masumi always finds it annoying when MC tries to take away from the person they’re interviewing, but she keeps her smile on as she answers, “I haven’t heard anything, but I’m sure things will be made clear soon. No matter what, I’ll be happy knowing that my Gem Knights support me.”

The fans in the audience cheer, and Masumi bows to them again. She’ll always be grateful to her fans, because without them, she wouldn’t have any of this. Not her solo career, not her spot in Generation-V or Pentagirls, and not the dozen certificates from donations made in her name that sit on her dresser at home.

After leaving the set of the music show, Masumi gets into the company car and changes in the backseat while Marco drives her to her next schedule—an hour-long talk on a radio show. It’ll be filmed as well as broadcasted on the radio, so Masumi’s outfit is the same one she wore on stage, and her makeup is touched up.

Before Masumi goes into the booth, Marco once again warns her not to let talk linger on rumors. But Marco doesn’t need to warn her—when the radio show host asks about the rumors, Masumi’s fans flood the show’s comments with admonishments to get the focus back on the guest. Masumi laughs it off good naturedly, but on the way home she makes a post on Instagram to thank the Gem Knights who commented.

“I hope the meeting tomorrow is about these rumors,” Masumi tells Marco as he drops her off. “At least then I won’t feel like I’m the only one out of the loop.”

Masumi lives in a dorm with three of her fellow group members; Rin, Ruri, and Serena. The four of them are part of Generation-V and its Sub-Unit Pentagirls, along with a fifth girl, Yuzu. Yuzu is lucky enough to live at home with her father, but when Masumi arrives back at the dorm, Yuzu is sitting on the couch with the other three girls. They seem to be watching the celebrity gossip channel.

“Heard there’s going to be a new debut,” Yuzu says as Masumi kicks off her shoes.

“It’s all anyone can talk about!” Masumi says with feigned enthusiasm. She wedges her way between Rin and Serena and puts her feet on the coffee table.

“I bet it’s going to be Yuri’s solo,” Serena says. She’s flipping through an idol magazine and tearing out her own gravure pictures. “You know they like to confuse reporters, make them think it’s someone ‘new.’”

But Masumi disagrees. “If Yuri was going to have a solo, he would be insufferable right now.”

The gossip channel is obsessed with some idol who was caught coming out of a plastic surgery clinic. After a half hour of it Masumi’s day catches up with her, so she heads for the shower. She snaps a selfie right before she climbs into bed—no makeup, wet hair, the sleeve of her Hello Kitty patterned pajama top peeking out at the corner. This is who she is, and why should she hide it from her fans?

 

* * *

 

Every single artist in the company has gathered in the auditorium, even the trainees, for the announcement. It’s definitely not a solo debut of a current performer, because they don’t get this level of hype for that kind of thing. At least, Masumi didn’t. There’s a blue curtain across the stage, which is already a hint. When Generation-V debuted, there was a green and orange curtain across the stage for their announcement—their fandom colors. Whoever is debuting now, they’re going to have some kind of blue theme.

Masumi sits a few rows back from the front, with the rest of the Gen-V members.

“I heard it is a solo artist though,” Shingo says. “The company is investing millions in the debut.”

“You say that like it’s new,” Yuri scoffs.

“I mean even more than before,” Shingo says. “Most expensive debut in history kind of millions.”

“I’ve heard Hatsune Miku being tossed around,” Gloria whispers. “Like, the artist is going to have that kind of persona, where she’ll cover every genre.”

“So it’s a girl?” Yugo asks.

Suddenly the lights dim, and everyone goes quite. The company CEO steps out on stage, and everyone stands in respect.

“Please be seated,” Takahashi sensei says, then continues, “I have gathered you all here today for an exciting debut announcement. I’m sure you’ve all heard rumors at this point, so I will not keep you in suspense. It is my great pleasure to be the first to introduce Blue Angel, here to perform her debut single, ‘Trickstar Angel.’”

Takahashi sensei backs away, and the stage is bathed in blue light. The curtain rises, and a spotlight shines on a lone singer, a girl in an elaborate blue dress with white wings on her back. Even her hair is blue, and Masumi hopes it’s a wig because it would take a lot of gel for natural hair to hold that style.

Blue Angel’s debut song is undeniably catchy, sugar-sweet but with a hint of playful attitude. Her choreography is simple (it has to be, those wings look like a pain to dance in), but she executes it with a flair that is going to make her stand out. When the song finishes, the auditorium erupts with applause. Blue Angel takes a bow, and then Takahashi sensei steps back on the stage.

“Yes, well done, Blue Angel,” he says. “And now, if you would please introduce yourself.”

Blue Angel waves. “Hello everyone!” She says in a chipper voice, “My name is Blue Angel, I have come to this earth from another dimension, and it is my mission to spread happiness where ever I go.” She winks and makes a heart with her hands. “Your Angel has descended!”

Masumi grins. That’s cheesy, but adorable.

Takahashi sensei continues, “With Blue Angel’s debut, we are trying something new. We are going to highlight her Angel persona, and we are going to keep her true name and identity secret for as long as we can.”

A murmur goes through the crowd. Masumi freezes.

“Obviously at some point we will come forward and ‘reveal’ Blue Angel’s identity, but for now, no one will be confirming her real name. For our current artists, we are going to have you play along with Blue Angel’s backstory. Even if you suspect you know her real name, we ask that you not reveal it.”

“Well then,” Yuzu says, leaning over to whisper in Masumi’s ear, “That’s certainly new.”

Masumi glowers and slumps down in her seat. Oh, this is going to be a nightmare.

 

* * *

 

In a matter of days, Blue Angel’s face and song are everywhere. Masumi can’t go a single day without getting Trickstar Angel stuck in her head, she watches the music video out of curiosity, but it’s _so_ good so she watches it again. Every Instagram live she does is flooded with requests for her opinion on Blue Angel, which she ignores because really, she doesn’t have an opinion, and when Generation V is taping for a variety show, the hosts waste no time asking them about the new artist in their company.

“I heard Blue Angel can leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Shingo cries.

“That’s Superman!” Yuya crows, playfully cuffing Shingo’s shoulder.

They all laugh, and Masumi hopes her smile is convincing.

“Ugh, when will it end?!” She complains in the van on the way home.

“When will what end?” Yuri asks.

“The Blue Angel questions,” Yuzu explains, rolling her eyes. “Masumi hates them, and she hates Blue Angel too.”

Shingo gasps and clutches his chest. “How can you hate her?! She’s an Angel!”

“Chill, it’s always like this at first,” Yuri says.

“I don’t hate her, I hate how fake this whole thing is,” Masumi whines. “I can’t understand why people would be interested in playing along with it!”

“For the same reason that people watch soap operas,” Shingo says seriously, “It’s an escape from reality, so they suspend their disbelief for a little while. And in case you haven’t noticed, most idols are at least a little fake. Not everyone wants to be as open as you are.”

Masumi swallows her protests. It’s not so much that she wants to be open about her life, she’s just trying to be the idol she wished she could have had when she was growing up. Not that being famous has stopped the hate. Masumi talks about it a lot, being mixed-race in a country that’s more than 98% one race. She talks about how hard it was to make friends, at first, about people who commented on her skin and her Indian lunches. It’s why, now, she treasures her popularity and the interest from fans in her life. She feels like it’s her responsibility to be open and talk about it as much as possible, so that little girls, and boys, just like her know that they’re not alone. And even though not all of her group mates are as open as she is, they try to be as honest as they can.

What Blue Angel panders to is something that any animator can create, and has created in the past. Vocaloids, cartoons, video games, the world already is full of fake singers. Does it really need another one? More importantly, is it something that little girls are going to be safe emulating?

Because it’s not just kids who are following Blue Angel. Since they’re from the same company it’s practically law for Masumi to follow Blue Angel on all her social media accounts, and though she tells herself not to, she goes through the comments on Blue Angel’s posts. Is it gross curiosity? Is it because she genuinely feels like she needs to protect whoever is behind the Blue Angel persona?

“This is disgusting,” Masumi whispers as she reads the comments on Blue Angel’s pictures. She takes captures of them, reports the comments, and then forwards the pictures to Marco.

“Why do you keep sending me these?” Marco asks her, after two weeks of pictures of lewd comments.

“Can’t you forward them to the police?” Masumi whines, “Children follow Blue Angel, some of those things are terrible!”

Marco sighs. “Masumi…I’ll do what I can, okay?”

Blue Angel does a live video, and Masumi must be a glutton for punishment because she watches. She’s used to lewd comments on her own livestreams, and she always ignores them, but when she’s the one watching the video, it’s harder to look away from the live comments.

“I hate people,” she complains to Rin.

“So stop watching,” Rin says.

She can’t, because as much as she can’t stand the utter fakeness of it all, Blue Angel is a real girl, and if there’s one thing Masumi hates more than fakeness it’s misogyny. If it was her in Blue Angel’s place, she would want someone looking out for her, too.

 

* * *

 

Months pass. Blue Angel is still out there promoting her persona, and to the shock of many, her fans don’t seem to want to know who she is. Articles that claim to reveal truths about her don’t get the level of expected response, and a lot of people write to the publishing sites to scold them. Masumi gets the feeling that the company didn’t quite expect that.

There’s a Millennium Idol group concert coming up, a big one, one that takes place in the Tokyo Dome, and there was a rumor that Blue Angel’s true identity would be revealed at the show, but that rumor has been squashed. Even without the lure of a reveal, the promise of Blue Angel being there has fans in a tizzy. Tickets had already sold out before Blue Angel even debuted, and now tickets are being resold for astronomical prices. That’s nothing new, but it drives Masumi crazy nonetheless.

But Blue Angel does small-stage shows too, and for that Masumi respects her. It’s not easy to do a full stage setlist solo, and Blue Angel does at least one a week, sometimes up to three. It’s so weird, because that kind of thing takes a lot of practice—months’ worth of it. There may be a lot of practice rooms in the company building, but Blue Angel’s setlist is fill of familiar songs, ones Masumi has performed as well, and she can’t remember hearing them as she walked through the building. She thinks back to the times she worked with trainees on choreography, but in her memory none of them match with Blue Angel’s face and body. Is it possible that Masumi never met her? Has the company been planning this for that long? It’s actually driving her crazy, trying to figure out who Blue Angel is, protect her, and be angry about her concept all at once.

 

* * *

 

It’s rehearsal day at the Dome, and all of the Millennium Idols have turned up. Costumes are going into dressing rooms, trainees are tripping over their own feet, managers are talking a mile a minute, and props blocking hallways. The stage is no better, lighting and sound tests are going on that the same time stage practices are, and it’s not always the same song playing over the speakers as the one the singers are practicing. Masumi loves it, it gets her blood racing. Yuzu says she gets this look in her eyes during big concert rehearsals, like she could grab a bullhorn and start running the show at any minute.

Masumi is in the middle of bossing Yaiba and Hokuto into place when she realizes that they have an audience for their rehearsal. Blue Angel is standing in the middle of the pit, and Shingo is having an animated conversation with her.

“The fans would love it!” He insists, “Let’s give it a whirl right now!”

“What are we doing?” Masumi asks.

Shingo turns to her. “Blue Angel was dancing along with us, didn’t you notice?”

Of course she didn’t, she was focused on her own dancing.

“Sure, why not?” Yuri says.

Blue Angel squeals and claps her hands. “‘Diamond Yell’ is my most favorite song ever!”

Masumi can feel her brain short circuit. Before she knows it Blue Angel is hopping up onstage to join Gen-V, and standing in the back of the group. It’s then that Masumi realizes that though Blue Angel is wearing her wig and heels, she’s not wearing her usual dress or her wings, so she can actually do the strong choreography that Diamond Yell requires.

Yuya counts them off, and even though a different song is playing over the speakers, they all sing and dance to Diamond Yell, and though Masumi concentrates on her own parts, she is also watching Blue Angel, and damn that girl is good! When the song finishes, the Gen-V members burst into applause, Masumi included. Blue Angel blushes and bows repeatedly.

“Maybe you should join us,” Masumi finds herself saying.

Blue Angel’s face glows. “Thanks, but I wouldn’t want to go knocking anyone out with my wings,” she laughs.

So don’t wear them, Masumi is about to say, but Gen-V’s time for practice is almost over, and they have to practice another song. Blue Angel hops down from the stage, leaving Masumi angry again—the persona is not only fake, it’s limiting. Whoever Blue Angel is, she’s got more talent than she’s been allowed to show.

 

* * *

 

On the day of the big concert, Masumi stands in the wings and watches all the performances. Someone has noticed that she has a knack for stage organization, they’ve asked if she might like to watch until she has to perform. Masumi jumped at the chance, and now she stays quietly hidden, observing the way the people come and go, how the equipment moves, and how the crowd reacts.

“Shoot!” Someone whispers. Masumi turns, and Blue Angel’s face is a breath away from her own. Masumi is taken aback—her eyes are enormous, her lashes are so full, and her eyes are too blue to be contacts.

“Can you help me with my mic? I think the wire came undone but I can’t see around these wings,” Blue Angel says with a sheepish grin.

Masumi ducks under one of said wings, and she pats down the wire and tape on Blue Angel’s costume. She’s got a roll of fabric tape in her pocket (always an important thing to have), and she tears off another strip and secures the wire further.

“There you go,” Masumi says, ducking back under Blue Angel’s wing.

Blue Angel grins widely. “Perfect!” She says. She looks like she’s about to hug Masumi, but her wings are too big, so instead she leans in and…

Kiss, kiss. One on each cheek.

“Thanks, hon!” Blue Angel says, and then she darts off.

Masumi stands perfectly still and waits for her brain to come back online. What are Blue Angel’s fans called? She thinks it’s something like True Blue Crew.

She’s pretty sure she just joined them.

 

* * *

 

Masumi has a night off, and she uses it to go to her own theater, because it’s Blue Angel’s night to perform. She puts on a face mask, glasses, and hides her hair under a short wig. She doubts that she would have had to go to such extremes, but better safe than sorry. She sits in the back and takes stock of the crowd. Mostly boys and men, no surprise there she thinks, rolling her eyes. There are a number of girls too, but no one seems to be younger than their mid-teens. It is also a school night and an evening show, so that might have something to do with it. Everyone clutches blue glowsticks, and Masumi is grateful that she thought to grab one from backstage the other day, or she would stick out like a sore thumb.

The lights dim and though the crowd is composed of maybe a hundred people, the roar is deafening. Blue Angel’s first song is her debut song, then she jumps right into Ocean Princess, and then Heart Virus. Finally, after her third song she introduces herself.

“Good Evening my True Blue Crew! Descending upon your heart, I am Blue Angel!”

The crowd shouts back, “True Blue, we are with you!”

Blue Angel claps her hands. “Everyone, last time when we met, I asked what delicious earth food I should try, and the suggestion that won was mochi! Thank you for suggesting it, because it was delicious and I think I like it better than blueberries!” The screen behind her shows a picture of her putting a small piece of mochi in her mouth, and then her wide-eyed reaction to it. The crowd whoops.

Blue Angel giggles, but then pouts and puts her hands on her hips. “But while I was out, I stepped in something very sticky. It got all over my boots!”

The next picture shows Blue Angel holding up her boot and a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of it.

“So this week, I have a challenge for you! Let’s take pictures of us being neat and tidy, and hashtag it with ‘TBC Cleans Up!’ What do you think? I’ll be looking at the hashtags, and one of you will be getting a signed fan from me!”

The crowd cheers again.

“Wonderful!” Blue Angel says. “Now, are you all ready for the next song?”

“Yes!” The crowd screams.

“What is it?” Blue Angel asks, hands behind her ears.

“MILKY WAY!” The crowd shouts.

Milky Way? That’s one of Masumi’s favorite songs!

Blue Angel starts to sing again. For this song, she doesn’t seem to follow any kind of choreography. She walks back and forth across the stage, waving to the audience, posing cutely for them, and occasionally doing little dances. Her next song is ‘I’m Like a Leaf,’ and it follows the same format. Masumi clutches her glowstick so hard her nails dig into her palms. Blue Angel is so cute she can hardly stand it! Everything about her screams happiness, this she’s not faking, because Masumi can see it in her eyes.

Then the lights dim. The crowd “ooh”s, and on the screen behind the stage an abstract video plays—clips of city lights, water, feathers floating on water. After a moment, the screen goes dark. When the lights come back on, Blue Angel reappears, sitting on a white throne and wearing different dress, this one made of a flowy fabric, but still blue. She sings ‘Warm Starlight,’ and the emotion in her voice almost brings Masumi to tears. Some people are moved to tears, Masumi sees them wiping their eyes. At the end of the song, Blue Angel stands and walks to the edge of the stage.

“There are many beautiful things on this earth that I’ve yet to experience. Let’s keep going together, and see it all, okay?”

“Okay!” The crowd calls.

Blue Angel holds out her pinky finger. “Promise?”

“Promise!” The crowd answers, also holding up their pinky fingers.

The rest of the songs are happy ones. Bouncy tracks that bring Blue Angel back out in her frilly dress and happy choreography. Backup dancers join her for ‘Sorry for Kissing You,’ ‘Candy Smile,’ ‘Dancing Stars on Me’ and a few others that pass in a blur of blue light and cheerful shouts from the crowd.

Before the last song Blue Angel takes time for another talk segment. This time, she plays a game with the audience, truth or dare. The truths and dares were selected from fan requests ahead of the show, and several have been gathered in a jar that staff bring on stage.

“Let’s pick three!” Blue Angel says cheerfully. The crowd counts out the slips of paper that she pulls from the jar, and then Blue Angel reads them out one by one.

“Dare – do ten elephant spins and then try to tie a shoelace!”

“Truth – How was it performing for the first time?”

“Dare – Show us your longest ‘yeah boi’ ever!”

The crowd screams and laughs with each one.

“Memes are such a strange concept!” Blue Angel says. “I think I’ll start with that last one!”

The staff time her, and she takes a drink of water, several deep breathes, and then gives a 31-second long ‘Yeah boi,’ after which her cheeks are flushed and she’s out of breath. She takes another long drink of water and holds the empty bottle over her head.

“Everyone, remember to hydrate!”

“We will!” The crowd says.

She does the elephant spins and shoelace tying next, and she does very well at it.

“And I don’t even wear shoelaces!” Blue Angel brags.

Finally, she answers the truth question. “I actually don’t have one ‘first’ performance. I performed when I was discovered by the Millennium Idol company, and that was my first performance in front of people who actually wanted to see if fallen angels were talented. That wasn’t the same as shooting a music video, or giving my seniors a preview of my song. I thought I would be most nervous for that, but then I went to Tokyo Dome! That stage was so big, and I thought I would feel so small on it, but when the time came, it all went by so fast, and I felt a little sad about that, because I feel like I didn’t really enjoy it properly. So that’s why I hope I have another first performance at Tokyo Dome—my first solo show there!”

The crowd whoops, one person screams, “We believe in you!”

“Thank you!” Blue Angel cries, hands over her heart. “I believe in all of you, too! I think we can make it happen together, what do you think?”

“Yes!” The crowd yells.

The final song is ‘Goodnight, Everyone.’ It’s not a particularly popular song, but Blue Angel makes it her own, she makes it special and meaningful.

Masumi leaves the theater feeling like her whole world view has changed, but it’s really just her view on Blue Angel. She thinks she gets it now, why so many people love Blue Angel, and why her concept works. She makes it work. Masumi could never be convincing in that role, but whoever Blue Angel is, she wants to make people happy, she wants to give them a fantasy of someone experiencing the world for the first time. She wants to remind them of how wonderful simple things are, and how small acts of kindness can carry on. Of course there are going to be people who miss that message, or who don’t care, but now Masumi gets it.

And she’s got to do something about it.  

 

* * *

 

“Where does Blue Angel practice?” Masumi asks Marco.

“I don’t know,” He says.

Masumi huffs. “Can you find out please, oh favorite manager of mine?”

Marco laughs. “I’ll see what I can do. Why do you want to know?”

“I saw her stage the other night, I want to tell her that she did…really well,” Masumi says. ‘Really well’ doesn’t even begin to describe it, but she’ll save that gushing for Blue Angel.

Marco comes through, and within a few hours Masumi gets a text that Blue Angel practices in Room 6, on floor 9 of the company building. Masumi immediately texts Yuzu that she’s not going to be at Gen-V’s practice that evening, she’s going to be with a kōhai instead, and she dashes off for Blue Angel’s room.

Of course once she gets there, she realizes that she has no idea what she’s going to say. She can hear ‘Candy Smile’ playing inside the room, and she waits until the song stops to knock on the door.

“Come in!” several voices call.

Masumi opens the door, and a blast of warm air hits her.

“Masumi-senpai!”

Blue Angel wears a black t-shirt, basketball shorts, a back-wards facing cap, and a face mask. She bows deeply, and so do the various dancers that Masumi recognizes from the theater. At the front of the room stands Blue Angel’s dance coach for the evening, a legendary graduate of Millennium Idols, Mazaki Anzu.

“What a surprise!” Anzu cries, crossing the room to give Masumi a hug.

“Same here, I wasn’t expecting you!” Masumi says, relaxed now that there’s a familiar face here—Anzu is her favorite dance coach. “I came by because I wanted to congratulate Blue Angel.”

Blue Angel lowers her face mask under her chin, and her eyes widen. “Me?” she echoes.

Masumi smiles. “I went to your stage the other night.”

Blue Angel’s jaw drops. “Y-you did? Oh my goodness, I didn’t know, I…I would have said hello!”

“I was in the audience, I didn’t tell anyone I was going,” Masumi says, and her cheeks heat up a little. “It was kind of last minute. It’s so rare for someone to do solo stages, and, well I have an interest in directing my own stage someday, so I was curious. Anyway, I just wanted to say that you were amazing.” She’s aware that there are a dozen people in the room, and she’s trying not to act like a blushing fangirl even though she clearly is one.

But she’s not the only one blushing like mad. Blue Angel’s cheeks are rosy red, and her hands flutter at her neck. “Thank you,” she says breathlessly, bowing again.

“Oh, this is wonderful,” Anzu says, “Masumi, a trained idol like yourself in the audience, watching songs that you have performed yourself! I’m sure you can give our young Angel some valuable insight!”

Blue Angel looks like she might pass out.

“I would be glad to as long as you turn on the AC,” Masumi says, glaring playfully at Anzu.

Anzu laughs and agrees to do so. She also dismisses the backup dancers for the night, saying she wants Blue Angel to have some one-on-one practice time. The dancers gather their things and bow their way out. Masumi gives poor Blue Angel a minute to wipe her face and cool off, and in that time she takes a water bottle from the fridge.

“Stay hydrated,” Masumi says lightly, offering Blue Angel a water bottle.

She blushes even more. “Thank you,” she says again.

Masumi smiles. “Now don’t laugh, okay? When you were singing Warm Starlight…I kind of cried. A little.”

Blue Angel squeaks and almost drops her water bottle.

Anzu laughs. “Oh for goodness sake, Masumi! You’re going to make her pass out.”

Masumi is very confused. Blue Angel covers her face. “Oh dear,” she says quietly. “I’m so sorry, I’m such a mess. You’re, um…my favorite idol.”

Masumi’s jaw drops. “Oh!” she cries.

Anzu laughs. “Oh, this is great! It’s like a mirror of when you and I first met!”

Masumi groans. “Oh, don’t remind me!”

But of course Anzu tells the story anyway. “I had just graduated and started coaching, and everyone told me about a kōhai that I just had to meet, because she was going to be the next lead dancer of the company, so I went to her practice room and I got to watch Ms. Masumi over here for a few minutes, but as soon as she noticed me she screamed and fell to the floor.”

“Anzu-san,” Masumi whines.

“And then she started crying,” Anzu adds.

“ANZU!” Masumi shrieks. She quickly explains, “I was so hyped up already and, well, my inspiration just walked into the room and I was so sad because she graduated before I had a chance to perform with her.”

Blue Angel finally smiles. “I…remember when Anzu-san came back for the anniversary performance.”

“And everyone teased me about being her biggest fan,” Masumi remembers.

“And we all danced to Idol Rotation together,” Anzu finishes.

Blue Angel clasps her hands behind her back. “It’s nice to meet you properly, Masumi-senpai,” she says, bowing. “Please call me Aoi.”

Masumi holds out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Aoi. Please call me Masumi.”

Anzu is positively beaming. “Two of my star kōhai, together in the practice room. This has the potential to be magical. So, I’ll not stand in the way of it!”

“Huh?” Masumi and Aoi say at the same time.

“I’m off!” Anzu says with a laugh. She grabs her bag and her phone from the couch in the corner. “Turn off the light when you leave!” And just like that, she’s gone.

“Well she got out like the room was on fire,” Masumi says, the only thing she can think to say.

“Oh mercy,” Aoi moans. “I’m so sorry about that…time backstage at the Dome.”

“Sorry?” Masumi asks.

“I was in character,” Aoi says, and her face is bright red again. “I was totally impolite.”

“Oh, please,” Masumi scoffs, waving her hand, “I thought it was adorable.”

Aoi actually steps back and covers her face. “Oh my god,” she moans.

Masui can’t help but laugh. “I’m really your favorite?”

Aoi peeks at her through her fingers. “I’ve followed you since day one,”

Masumi can’t help but laugh. “This is absolutely surreal. I came down here so I could gush over you.”

“WHAT?!” Aoi shrieks.

“You are an amazing performer!” Masumi says. “I mean, as soon as I saw you sing that one song, it’s absolutely one of my favorite underappreciated songs in the discography, and you made it yours. You had the emotion, you put your soul into it, I could hear it and see it. People cried when you sang it. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since then.”

Aoi gapes at her.

“I could say the same about literally every other song you sang. Milky Way was another of my favorites, and so was Goodnight, Everyone.”

“That’s my favorite song!” Aoi squeals.

“I wish Johan and Judai had performed it together more often!” Masumi says.

“Me, too!”

They both laugh.

“You know, you really are a terrific dancer,” Masumi says. “I wish you could join us for Diamond Yell.”

“One day I will,” Aoi says confidently. “The wings are wreaking havoc on my spine, we’re already making plans for shooting my next single and, well, basically the response to Warm Starlight has been so good, it’s going to be my next lead, and we’re going to do a ‘lose the wings’ theme.”

“Wow,” Masumi says, eyes widening. “A ballad as a lead single?”

Aoi shrugs. “They think I’m popular enough and the theme is unique enough to generate some buzz. I’m just glad the wings will be gone. They’re pretty but…man the whole costume is so hot!”

Masumi grins. “I can only imagine. So…you’re doing okay with it otherwise, right?”

Aoi looks thoughtful.

Masumi gestures to the sofa. “Let’s sit?”

Aoi nods, and they both plop down. Aoi kicks off her shoes and tucks her feet up. “I kinda like the anonymity,” she says. “I’m surprised that it’s gone on for so long. I think there are people who know, but I can still go out and not get mobbed.”

Masumi nods. “Yeah…sometimes I miss that. But I mean…some people take it a little too far, the fallen angel theme.”

“I’ve heard,” Aoi says. “Sometimes I see it, like when I do the livestreams, but I’m not allowed to manage my own social media yet, so it’s kind of easy for me to ignore the comments.”

“I’ve seen them,” Masumi says.

“Is it really bad?”

Masumi hesitates, and it seems to be all the confirmation that Aoi needs. “It’s nothing new,” she says. “Mai-senpai got a lot of it, too. All idols get the weird fans.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Masumi say quietly. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen,” Aoi answers.

She’s a year younger than Masumi is, but Masumi’s been a trainee with Millennium Idol since she was thirteen, and performing live since she was fourteen.

“I don’t think any of us are ever old enough to deal with it,” Masumi says.

“It’s true,” Aoi agrees. “But I’ve been lucky, the fans in the audience have been great so far, if they’re not then I either don’t notice or someone shuts them up.”

“Actually I did notice that a lot of your fans are really protective,” Masumi says. She’s noticed even more lately.

Aoi smiles. “I wanted to be an idol since I was six. Most kids aren’t that specific, they just say ‘I want to sing,’ but I knew I wanted to be an idol. I wanted the frilly costumes and sugar-sweet songs and fake hair. I wanted to be what happened when you crossed Sailor Moon with Katy Perry and Madonna.”

“That’s very specific,” Masumi says.

Aoi shrugs. “My mom was a big fan. But I’m glad I got this concept, and it’ll change in the future, eventually I’ll move to a more mature style and try new things. It’ll be fun.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to it,” Masumi says. “Actually, even before I saw your stage I considered myself part of your True Blue Crew.”

Aoi blushes. “You should sing with me,” she blurts. Her blush deepens. “O-or I should sing with you! Rather! You’re the senior after all.”

“Which song?” Masumi asks.

“Warm Starlight, of course!” Aoi says. “Heck, Milky Way too! Any of them, I would be honored!”

Masumi grins and her heart flutters in her chest. “I would like that.”

They exchange phone numbers, and both of them plan to talk to their managers about a joint performance as soon as possible.

 

* * *

 

Of course, Masumi can’t just up and join a character like Blue Angel on stage, there has to be some kind of buildup to it. But Blue Angel’s fans keep asking for her to take videos of herself as she tries new food, and finally the opportunity arises for her to try Indian food.

Aoi doesn’t live in the company dorm, instead she actually has her own place in a high rise, and it’s pretty nice, so she shoots her live videos in her own apartment. Masumi comes over as Aoi is getting into her costume, groceries in hand, and starts setting up. There’s a few staff members running around, and Masumi has planned to make enough food for all of them.

“This is crazy,” Aoi says, a starstruck look in her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re in my house!”

“Neither can I,” Masumi says honestly.

“Now, what’s her name?” A staff member quizzes Masumi.

“Blue Angel,” Masumi says automatically. “Blue Angel, Blue Angel, Blue Angel.”

“Good,” The staff member says with a nod.

Once she’s dressed and her makeup is done, Blue Angel starts her livestream.

“Hello True Blue Crew!” She says cheerfully, waving at her camera. “I have a surprise for you all! So many requests for food tasting have come in, and I’m happy to announce that Millennium Idol’s best chef is here to cook for me!”

Blue Angel turns to show Masumi at the stove, and she waves. “Hi everyone!”

There’s a computer on the counter showing the livestream, and Masumi can’t read the comments from where she is, but she can tell that they just exploded.

Masumi talks through how she’s making lemon rice, a south Indian dish that’s quick to cook, and she and Blue Angel talk about how they met backstage at the Tokyo Dome concert, and about how they admire each other. It’s not completely true, but it’s not completely false either.

When the dish is ready, Masumi takes the camera and films Blue Angel’s first bite.

“Oooooooh my gosh!” She says, “This is so good!”

Masumi sets the camera down on a stand and sits next to Blue Angel so they can eat together. They carry on a light conversation, and when they’ve cleared their plates they say goodbye to the fans who are watching and switch off the camera.

“Holy cow though, this is good,” Aoi says. “I’m going to have to try making this myself.”

“Let me know how it goes!” Masumi says. She loves sharing recipes with people. She prepares plates for the staff members, and suddenly Aoi lets out a shriek.

“What?!” Masumi cries, turning around.

Aoi has her hands pressed to her cheeks, which are burning. “They love us!” she says, “They want you in more of my livestreams. They…they want us on stage together!”

“But that’s what we were going for, isn’t it?” Masumi asks with a laugh.

“I…yes!” Aoi stammers, “But it’s so…wow! I guess I didn’t think they would take to it so quickly.”

Masumi is pretty confused by Aoi’s shock, until she goes back to the dorm and Serena pounces on her.

“So, you and Blue Angel are getting domestic, eh?”

“What?!” Masumi yelps.

Serena holds up her phone and starts reading, “OMG, I get such a housewife feel from these two. Why do I feel like I’m watching Blue Angel gush over her girlfriend? Masumi only cooks for her close friends, I had no idea she and Blue Angel were so—”

“GIRLFRIEND?!” Masumi shrieks as her brain finally catches up.

Serena smirks. “I mean you were there, did you not hear how Blue Angel’s voice was like, shaking every time she talked to you?”

No wonder Aoi was blushing when she read the comments. Masumi scoffs, “You’re reading way too much into it, she’s just a fan of mine, as it turns out. It was like when I met Anzu.”

“Uh-huh,” Serena says. “Tell it to the fans, not me.”

 

* * *

 

It only takes a week for Masumi to find herself backstage with Blue Angel, their request for a joint performance approved faster than either of them had anticipated.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Aoi asks for the tenth time.

Masumi grins at her. “If I was going to run, I would have done it before I put these shoes on,” she jokes. She’s wearing stilettos and a glittering, silver dress, and her stylist is just about to do her makeup. She and Aoi are going to look amazing together for ‘Warm Starlight.’

Aoi smiles, but she looks nervous. Outside, the crowd is singing ‘Trickstar Angel.’ The staff call out that there’s two minutes to showtime, and Blue Angel needs to get her wings on. Masumi gets out of her chair and motions for Aoi to turn around. Aoi looks confused, but does so. Masumi pats down the wire on the back of Aoi’s costume, making sure it’s secure.

“Good to go,” she says.

Blue Angel turns around, beaming. “Perfect!” She says.

Masumi takes her hands, and they lean in. Kiss, kiss, one on each cheek.

“Thanks, hon!” Blue Angel says cheerfully.

“Break a leg!” Masumi says, and then she sits back down and lets the stylist get on with her makeup.

 

Technically, cameras aren’t allowed in the theater, and the shows are livestreamed anyway, but that doesn’t stop some fans. By the next morning, it feels like all of Japan has seen Masumi and Blue Angel’s joint performance of ‘Warm Starlight’ from multiple angles and in all kinds of quality, and they can’t get enough.

‘Wow, Masumi looks like an angel, too!’

‘Their voices are like heaven!’

‘Are they going to do more together?’

‘I never thought of them singing together but HOLY COW THEY ARE PERFECT!’

And those are just some of the comments Masumi has read. Aoi texts her in the afternoon and says that her staff wants to know if Masumi would like to come back.

‘Of course,’ Masumi answers. ‘It was fun. I loved singing with you.’

After a moment, Aoi responds, ‘Would you be open to performing the whole setlist with me? Maybe not right now, but some day?’

Masumi grins, her heart fluttering. ‘I would love that.’

This could turn out to be something truly amazing. Masumi is looking forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> kōhai - junior, opposite of senpai  
> True Blue Crew comes from the VRAINS dub, it's what Skye/Blue Angel calls her fans
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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